In which the random, trashy, pop-cultural musings of Mel are displayed in all their superficial glory.

Monday, May 16, 2005

A Monday survey. Yesterday I was telling Tash about Saturday night, and we got into a discussion about the best way to refer to kissing sessions. I opined that I would like to see the term "petting" re-enter the vernacular, in both light and heavy incarnations. I added that I am a big fan of the term "making out". I like its dorky teen Americanness: "Hey, wanna go back to my place and make out?"

Tash said that she preferred "fooling around" because of its alluring non-specificity - "Hey, wanna go back to my place and fool around on the couch?" When I asked the manslave about this at our very close quarters, he said that he preferred "getting busy", Sean Paul-style. And of course, the trendy among Melbourne's blogging set like to call it "pashing". Oh, the torturous days that Kate Ceberano's song "Pash" was in my head after reading those posts.

So, I institute a Monday poll: What is the best word or phrase for low-level sexual activity?

1. Pashing (on)2. Petting (light and heavy)3. Making out4. Fooling around5. Getting busy6. Getting with (eg "My friend Travis wants to know if you wanna get with him")7. Other (specify)

In this spirit of public education, I also present to you The Kiss Test, which I discovered while Googling "making out".

If I've been talking to a girl, and I want to know if she's ready to be kissed, I'll reach over and touch her hair while we're talking and make a comment about it. I'll say "Your hair looks so soft" and just touch the tips of it. If she smiles and likes this, I'll reach back over and start stroking it again, but this time I also glance down at her lips and back up to her eyes a couple of times. If she lets me keep touching her hair, I know that she's ready to be kissed.

This made me think about the opposite situation - how to work out if someone is ready to kiss you. Some say it's when they come at you with their mouth open and their tongue hanging out. So I am also curious to hear from you on this vital issue. Thankyou.